BBC
21 Jan 2012

Prominent Republican Colin Duffy, who has been cleared of murdering two soldiers in Antrim, has said he believed his DNA had been planted in the getaway car.

On Friday, Mr Duffy, 44, from Lurgan, was aquitted of murdering Mark Quinsey, 23, and Patrick Azimkar, 21 at Massereene Barracks in March 2009.

His co-accused, Brian Shivers, 46, from Magherafelt was convicted.

Mr Duffy made the comments on Saturday at a news conference.

The soldiers were shot dead as they collected pizza.

Acquitting Colin Duffy, Judge Hart told Antrim Crown Court that he was satisfied that Mr Duffy’s DNA was found on a latex glove tip inside the car and on a seat buckle.

Split

But, he said, the prosecution had failed to link the defendant to the murder plot.

Speaking at the news conference, Mr Duffy defended his innocence.

“Let me state quite categorically here that I had no involvement with what happened at Massereene – no involvement whatsoever – and that has been vindicated in the court,” he said.

“There was no credible evidence to suggest otherwise.”

Shivers was also found guilty of six counts of attempted murder and one of possession of two firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life.

Mr Duffy faced the same charges and was acquitted on all of them.

Sappers Mark Quinsey, from Birmingham, and Patrick Azimkar, from London, had been due to travel to Afghanistan hours after they were murdered.

The dissident republican group, the Real IRA, claimed responsibility for the attack, which left several others injured.

The Real IRA was born out of a split in the mainstream Provisional IRA in October 1997, when the IRA’s so-called quartermaster-general resigned over Sinn Fein’s direction in the peace process.